In 1910, no one believed there would ever be a war with Germany. Safe in her affluent middle-class life, the rumours held no significance for Victoria either. It was her father’s decision to enroll her at university that began to change all that. There she befriendes the rebellious and outspoken Beryl Whittaker, an emergent suffragette, but it is her love for Gerald Avery, a talented young poet from a neighbouring university that sets the seal on her future. After a clandestine romance, they marry in January 1914, but with the outbreak of the First World War, Gerald volunteeres but within months has gone missing in France. Convinced that he is still alive, Victoria’s initial attempts to discover what has become of him, implicate her in a murderous assault on Lord Kitchener resulting in her being interrogated as a spy, and later tempted to adultery. Now virtually destitute, Victoria is reduced to finding work as a common labourer on a run down farm, where she discovers a world of unimaginable ignorance and poverty. It is only her conviction that Gerald will some day return that sustains her through the dark days of hardship and privation as her life becomes a battle of faith against adversity.

Raised in 1820’s India, 12-year-old Isabella Rockwell can ride and shoot as well as any of the soldiers in her father’s regiment. These skills, however, are of no use to her when she finds herself on the frozen streets of London, orphaned and alone.

Tormented by guilt over the deaths of those who loved her, she vows never to be responsible for anyone’s life again. If she can scrape together enough money, she will return to India. But Isabella cannot shake the creeping feeling that something is not right; that something threatens not only her new best friend, but the throne of England itself.

Having survived this far on her wits alone, will Isabella escape back home to India? Or will she stay with Alix, a girl whose fate seems to be tied up with Isabella’s own? A fate with consequences far beyond those Isabella could ever have imagined.

The disillusioned Marine’s plan seems simple enough: steal a refrigerated tractor trailer loaded with frozen blood product; drive the pirated cargo from Reno, Nevada to the Port of Long Beach; collect a million dollars. Yet even the most deliberate plans can go sideways. On his campaign south, the Marine’s “inner idiot” takes charge, leaving a smattering of dead bodies in his wake.

In the dark before dawn, a telephone rings. Kern County Sheriff’s detective Lucas “Lucky” Dey, no stranger to being awakened with bad news, answers the call. But this time, the voice on the phone tells Lucky that his ill-fated younger brother has been gunned down on a blackened desolate highway.

As Lucky chases the former Marine and his black semi-rig into the bowels of Los Angeles, he’s thrust into a landscape of competing agendas. Conrad Ellis, the multi-millionaire entertainment mogul, demands justice for the murder of his starlet daughter. Ambitious federal attorney Lilly Zoller is determined to turn any opportunity into her personal spotlight. Rey Palomino, the morally-challenged contractor, colludes with the former Marine hoping to crawl out from under a crushing debt. LAPD detective and dedicated single mom Lydia “Gonzo” Gonzales, reluctantly accepts her assignment to “babysit” the unrestrained Kern County detective hell-bent on avenging his brother’s death at any cost.

A knee-breaking private detective, some unwitting feds, and a coterie of gang-busting L.A. Sheriffs deputies further complicate the scenario and round out the cast of characters in this explosive and unpredictable thrill ride.

In 1950s Australia, during the height of the divisive White Australia Policy, Virginia, a young Aboriginal girl is taken from her home and family and put to work on an isolated, outback station, in the cruelest of conditions. Her only solace: the violin, taught to her in secret by a kind-hearted white woman – the wife of the abusive station owner. However, Virginia’s prodigious musical gift cannot save her from years of hardship, abuse, and racism.

Decades later, her eight year old granddaughter, Ruby, plays the violin with a passion Virginia once possessed. Amidst abject poverty, domestic violence and social dysfunction, Ruby escapes her circumstance through her practice, with her grandmother’s frail, guiding hand. Ruby’s zeal attracts the attention of an enigmatic music professor, and with his help, Ruby embarks on an incredible journey of musical discovery that will culminate in a once in a life time chance for a brighter future. But with two cultural worlds colliding, her gift and her ambition will be threatened by deeply ingrained distrust, family jealousies and tragic secrets that will define her very identity.

Yvonne

I can’t remember a time, even as a child, when I haven’t been passionate about books and reading.
I began blogging, when I realised just how many other people out there shared my passion for the written word and I have been continually amazed at the wealth of books that are available and the amount of great new friends I have made, from literally 'The Four Corners Of The World'.

14 comments

The last couple of books have been historical fiction and I have just noticed that several more of the books in my review pile are also from one historical genre or another. My next book, ‘Blood Money’, will therefore be a nice break, taking me back into the world of the thriller, which I so enjoy.

I know that I am very behind with my reviews and although I keep trying to get on top of them, it just isn’t happening somehow. Fiction Books seems to be heading down the path of being more of promotional site for books and authors, rather than a review site and I am not sure that is the direction I want it to take. I think I just try to put so much into a review, that it takes forever to write and get right, before I am happy to publish. I have always been something of a perfectionist (hubbie calls it OCD), but that’s just me I’m afraid!

I am about half way through Dance The Moon Down and so far thoroughly enjoying it. It is very well written, deceptively so for a male author in the genre, with some excellent descriptive passages.

I have checked out The Moon Field and already added it to my TBR. I fact all of Judith Allnatt’s books sound so very good, that her name is also on my author to read list. I shall look forward to your review.

I don’t know, we have agreed on quite a few books over the months and to be perfectly honest with you, nearly every fiction book I come across sounds interesting, depending on what mood I am in at the time. I really do have very eclectic reading tastes and it takes a lot for me not to finish a book.

Thanks for taking the time to check out this week’s post, I always value your comments.

I can’t remember when I have featured a more diverse set of stories and genres, but that is part of what drives my reading habit. I just couldn’t stick to a single type of genre, I love mixing things up a little.

Thanks for taking the time to visit, I always love to receive comments and truly apppreciate them.

I see that you have already been kind enough to check out the review of ‘Gifts Of The Peramangk’ and the review of ‘Fleeting Glance’ should be available soon, although I haven’t been too well this week, so have done literally no post preparation at all. Hate feeling yucky, so this had better sort itself out soon!!